Further Down the Path

Juan got divorced several years ago.  After five years of fighting, he has secured a solid visitation plan and a balanced custody arrangement.  When his son Robert arrives he takes him everywhere, to the zoo, the library, and the gym.  Juan and Roberto are inseparable. 

One morning Roberto wants to learn how to bake a cake.  They have made it together dozens off times before; this time though he wants to surprise Daddy.  He gets out all of the bowls and mixing implements and the cake mix.  After reading the instructions carefully, he begins to measure and mix. 

About a half an hour into the process, Daddy comes down to make breakfast for them.  He realizes what Little Robert is doing and says nothing.  Even though Robert has forgot to preheat the oven and is adding the ingredients in the wrong order.  All Big Poppa does, is watch and pretend he does not notice. 

Instead, he asks, “Whatchya want for breakfast little guy?”  To which the boy answers in a firm tone, “Nothing Daddy, I’m making breakfast today.”  The father smiles approvingly, “Wow, son.  I guess I’ll just get us the paper then?”  “Yeah Dad.”  Forty-five minutes later, the son is happily serving them. 

The cake is a bit burned and incredibly dry.  Little Robert has added things in the wrong order and did not preheat the oven.  Nonetheless, they cut into the frosted marvel that testifies of human curioousity and ingenuity.  While eating, the father smiles happily and approvingly to the son, “So, how do you feel about your first breakfast little guy?” 

In a matter of fact tone, the son states, “Well Dad, it is harder than it looks.  I followed the instructions, but somehow it does not seem to taste the same as when we make it together.” 

Juan gently responds, “Why do you think that is?” 

“I think I may have misread somewhere.” 
“I think you are right.  You know I am always here to help if you need it.”  “I know Dad, but I really wanted to make it myself this time.” 

Juan is prepared for this and says, “And you did a great job on your first cake.  I am really proud of your effort.”  Laughingly adding, “Though I am not sure that we are going to enter the church baking contest yet.” 

The two smile and continue eating. 

Later that morning when they are riding down a bike trail together, the Juan watches his son cycling out ahead and circling back and forth.  He reflects on the growth of his only child, and even more profoundly, the growth of his own character.  In ancient philosophy they often say, “The Last shall be First, and the First shall be Last.”  A new meaning strikes the father today. 

You give birth to your parents, for it is your children that truly teach.  Watching his son grow taught him not to interfere so quickly with solutions when challenges are so fun.  Children, and all people for that matter, create wonderful dramas and hurdles in their life to solve and grow through.  They want to leap, not be carried over, their obstacles. 

Like this morning when Little Roberto was baking his cake.  He did not want Daddy to do if for him, or to do it together, he wanted to figure it out on his own.  In the past, Daddy would have held his hand all the way through.  Or even worse, he did it for him.  This crushes self-esteem and destroys initiative; especially in children. 

Juan’s leadership in all facets of his life has grown.   He now views his employees as his children.  Rather than be the domineering tyrant he once was, he is now the loving father.  He helps them to align their visions and values and facilitates cohesion and compromise.  The father neither solves their challenges nor doles out solutions, he leads.  No more dictatorship. 

His thoughts sink deeper into his conscious to become part of its permanent landscape.  His awareness rises like the fires of Kilauea creating new land for his son and family to traverse.  They start by riding further down the path. 

First Change within, then the World Changes without.

 The video above is from a 1992 UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro.  It powerfully conveys the inspiration of my childhood.

 Although I was born and raised in the USA, I lived with my grandparents in India when I was a toddler.  Grandpa was as traditional as it gets.  He taught me to read and write and would shake the heck out of me when I made a mistake.  Yet he also loved me very much and would teach me many things. 

My brother and I would sit and watch the gigantic ants many an afternoon.  Ants present an incredible show.  They model the power of persistence, tenacity, and teamwork for all of us.  In fact, my first biology professor told his students that ants make up something like 90% of the biomass of all insects living.  Regardless of the actual number, they are everywhere. 

One thing about India shocked me when I first arrived there: the abject poverty of masses of people.  I had never seen such things in the US.  What made their plight so poignant though, was that they looked just like me!  These were thousands and thousands of little Gouthum’s wandering the streets and begging.  It hurt me immensely. 

So I asked everyone, “Why are they so poor, why doesn’t anyone fix it?”  I was told not to worry about it, because no one could.  It was just that way.  Naturally, this answer rung unacceptable to me; I promised never to forget.  I felt in my heart that adults say thing like that all the time because they have not tried.  Nothing was impossible. 

This made for quite an interesting childhood.  Unbeknownst to me, many of these memories lead to depression and hopelessness.  For, it seemed that everywhere I went I saw pain and suffering.  I know now that this was due to my perspective rather than the world.  By very definition, there are more good people than bad, and less poverty and starvation than sustenance. 

But that still leaves the little Gou’s starving in India doesn’t it?  What is one to do?  What should one do?  Does one need to do anything?  These are the questions that haunt us all somewhere within our psyche.  Children just hold these concerns nearer the top of their awareness because they have no mortgage or kids of their own to worry about.  Yet we still harbor the conundrums. 

Each of us has special gifts, some more prevalent than others.  Life is about choosing what we want to use them for.  Neither is more right than the other.  Some have discipline and strength of character and go to the Peace Corps, other to religion, some to the military.  These are all choices.   

I choose to help others through writing, treatment, and consulting.  By helping people with philosophy and modeling my example, I assist the kids in India.  My son may ask, “How Daddy?”  And I will share, that there is direct action and indirect action, as well as teaching and training, and funding.  Each supports our dreams in different ways. 

We could directly open a soup kitchen in Bombay.  Or we could hand out birth control.  Others in the USA help indirectly by working for aid institutions in support roles such as phone or technical support.  Others teach about nonprofits and some finance their operations. 

Then again, we all help in one way or another: he project manager building huge dams or infrastructure projects, a school teacher teaching literacy.  Statesmen bring people together to compromise.  Even my Internet friends bring information to the masses.  For me, my study of philosophy has shown me the balance of the world, and I hope that I can share that with others.   

It has become cliché to dream of world peace, however noble the goal.  I seek to help people find peace from the inside out.  Only philosophy can do this.  No external changes brought me the comfort that I needed.  First change within, then the world changes without.

Coalition Building

Many of my colleagues and clients desire to make a large impact on the world.  Their dreams loom large in their consciousnesses.  Yet many times these change leaders confide to me their wish for more money to fulfill their visions.  Ironically this may not be what they need.

 

During the elections process, politicians and statesmen alike have to fundraise.  More often than not this skill is seen as a necessary evil.  While in fact, it forms a vital part of the mobilizing process.  This step creates coalitions.  Without them, any change initiative flounders over time.

 

Thus, to make our visions a reality we must build momentum through organizing and motivating individuals and groups of individuals.  Examples of failures to do this include candidates that fund their own campaigns only to fail at the polls.  So please remember that part of leading change includes this vital step.

 

The next time you wish for more money to change the world, please remember to be thankful that you do not have it.

 

Reference:

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap and others don’t. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. ISBN: 0066620996.

 

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. ISBN: 0875847471.

 

Subject and Object Part V: Models of Reality

Constantly we hear in the news that another Imam or Pastor, or other religious leader denounces some scientific discovery.  Even worse, there are the Creationist versus Evolutionist battles in places such as the school board in the USA’s state of Kansas.  Yet is this even logically possible?  Can the Quantum Physics versus Newtonian Physics people claim that one is “wrong?” 

Although on the face of it, this last statement seems particularly absurd, I attest to you that both arguments fall equally short of being reasonable.  They are tautologically impossible.  Their logic cannot exist as they explain the same phenomenon in at least two different ways for a minimum two different purposes.  Both explain the same thing in different ways in order to accomplish something. 

Mom says that God brings a baby to the womb through divine inspiration, personally kissing each child on the head.  Dad says that him and mom lay together and each take part of themselves to combine into a baby which grows in mommy’s belly.  Is one wrong?  Each seeks to answer a different question. 

One seeks to provide a “how,” and another a “why?”  This is not new information for those of you who read other parts of my writing, such as “the how and the why,” nor is it new for those who have sat and reasoned the logic out.  What I am showing here that is different, is that each describe a model of reality.  Neither is right or wrong. 

When I took Chemistry my first teacher taught us the model of significant figures.  It stated that an answer could not be given in a greater level of detail than the lowest level of detail in any of its composite parts.  In plain terms this means that if one unit of measurement is only accurate to two decimal places, one cannot give the answer in the form of four decimal places. 

Each model of reality has its own level of specificity and purpose.  If one philosophy is used to explain how to split an atom it serves a completely different purpose than the physics of a good curveball or karate punch.  Is one right, and another wrong?  That depends on what you are trying to explain.  According to the physics of atom splitting, you cannot hit someone else.  You have a probability based upon electron shells etc. that you may connect with one person. 

Yet I stand still in front of my pitch or punch.  I guarantee that is a bad idea.  Your philosophy will not protect your nose. 

So what I am introducing here, is that one cannot fault evolution or religion on its face, per se.  It is what you are using it to try to justify that needs examination.  Using religion to decide how to pasteurize your food is ridiculous, yet telling you “why” may have use.  Regardless, science is a method of reasoning out causes and effects in order to better our physical position on the earth.  When only applied to objects it leads to Utilitarianism, a philosophy used to justify such depredations as those used by the Nazi’s. 

When applied to subjects such as consciousness and the individual, it leads to philosophy and eventually religion.  What is the purpose of religion?  It is supposed to be a “Science of Perfect Living.”  We shall leave that for another day.  We must always remember to look at the logical foundations of a model and what the user of it tries to justify.  This frees us to make informed and educated decisions. 

Economics makes models of reality all the time without ever spawning the friction of the scientific and religious debate.  There are two main reasons why.  One, no one ever reads the economic models!  And two, everyone knows that they are an approximation of reality.  Truly, religion and science are no different.  Each approximates reality in order to make an argument that leads to a given result. 

No description can ever capture an infinite reality that lasts forever.  Once you describe the infinite, it become finite and circumscribed by your argument.  Then there are places where your subject does not exist, outside your carefully constructed description.  Thus it is not in all places in all times, and voila, it does not exist forever.  It is time and space conditional.  If there are places which it does not exist it is not eternal. 

Everything is an approximation in both science and religion.  Remember significant figures and economics, both are models used to describe reality in order to accomplish a given purpose.  Remember the purposes of the models and confine them to their useful arenas.

Global Warming, Global Cooling, What is the Point?

The mean global temperature is rising as compared to historical weather data and core samples.  Each person uses this information to justify their own personal view.  Some conclusions proposed based on this comparative data: 

1.     Humans cause the change.

2.     It is our consumption lifestyle.

3.     It is the hydrocarbon based economy (Fossil fuel use).

4.     Solar cycles cause it. 

Some arguments justified: 

1.     We should consume less per capita in the industrialized world.

2.     Fossil fuels need to be eliminated as the core of our energy system.

3.     Population control is the key.

4.     Kill Dick Cheney, George Bush, <INSERT OIL EXECUTIVE>. 

Some campaigns advanced:

1.     Stop Global Warming.

2.     Stop Global Whining.

3.     Save the Earth/Environment.

4.     Save Monster Trucks. 

This piece does not seek to promote one point over another.  First and foremost, the Earth will survive.  For over four billion years this planet silently grew with or without human influence.  Four thousand millions of years compared to homo sapiens two million!   

If the life of Earth were one day, our species’ rise occupies only the last three minutes of the last hour.  With or without humanity, planet Earth will continue long after the human tale ends; barring asteroid impact, planetary collisions, or comets.  So if we wish to save anything, it is our own hides. 

Even then, there are too many variables to measure to stop all possible catastrophes.  All that we can do as individuals and groups is to minimize the impact of the variables in our own direct control. 

For example, I can fly around in my jet plane convincing others to minimize impact, or I can minimize my own by riding a bicycle everywhere.  The former influences many others so I can use more resources, while the latter decreases my own personal impact. 

Which one I choose lies in the realm of personal preference.  Neither is more right than the other.  This is the reason for this essay.  Each person has their own choice of how they want to spend and value their own time and resources. 

There is nothing more noble about either of the choices presented above from the myriad of options available. 

We as finite beings in an infinitely variable universe can never prevent or control every variable.  If we could, there would be no reason to live, not to mention the boredom! 

Thus, life is about creating and modeling your own ethics and morality, and expressing that in every breathe.  This impacts the world as much or more than any dramatic gesture.  Plus, it has staying power.  Like an avalanche, these pebbles move the waves of change. 

Again though, life starts from within, and it is about seeing the beauty every day.  If you wish to minimize the impact of your actions upon the Earth because it agrees with your philosophy so be it.  If you wish to let people know not to urinate in the same water we all drink, please, do so. 

Realize though, that all options are a choice.  Choose what you want and be that.  Some people have the role of polluting, others of cleaning up.  I am sure that the world is heating up, the questions is what do I want to do with that perspective. 

First, I might move off of the coasts.  Second I may try to study the affects of a spiraling climate change.  Third, and most important, I will value everyday of my life and every moment. 

My philosophy has always been to be efficient and elegant in my actions.  Although I do not succeed in everything, I try to make only the footprint on the world that I must.  The Earth goes through cycles and phases as do we all.  Capitalize on the changes and value every moment is my philosophy.

FOOTNOTE:

Scientists proposed last century that oil came from organic or inorganic processes.  The former, the dinosaur theory says that ancient organic life contributed in its death, to oil.  While the later states that it is a natural process within the earth that produces this fuel source.  Both have been reproduced in the lab, and neither can be conclusively proven.

We Were Just Following Orders

For me, all leadership starts with the core of ethics and morality.  In his article, “The Moral Foundation of Extra-Ordinary Leadership,” James Clawson discusses the idea that true change facilitation must be founded in morality and ethics. (Clawson, pp. 4, 2001) 

In fact, he states that four key principles underscore this form of leadership, Truth-telling, Promise-keeping, Fairness, and Respect for the Individual.  In my work, I focus on Respect for the Individual as a form of Servant Leadership.

When a leader remembers to respect the people under him or her and those of all other stakeholders, extra-ordinary leadership can flourish.  For example, in the Army Leadership Manual, 22-100, the Department of the Army clearly states that morality and ethics must underlie leadership under difficult conditions.

Another example of forgetting this is the Nuremburg defense, “We were just following orders.”  Knowing and respecting the individual as well as remember the rest of the ethical foundations ensures that the team and organization can perform under extremely difficult conditions. 

Reference: 

Clawson, James G. (2001) “The Moral Foundation of Extra-Ordinary Leadership” Darden University Publishing: University of Virginia 

Department of the Army (DA) (1999).  Field Manual Number 22-100: Army Leadership, Be, Know, Do.  Washington DC:  HQ Dept. of Army.

Fears of a Visionary

In September of 2005, I wrote the following vision statements for my first MBA class:

 

Five years from now, I am well known leader who joins the Eastern and Western paths of reason.  Together with my counterpart we have built a school for our integrated philosophy which extends worldwide through several campuses and the Internet as it exists in the future.

 

After nearly two years and countless iterations of my new firm, I have settled on the following statements:

Vision

Perfect Paradox seeks to help people find immortality in every moment of their lives.

Mission

Our mission is to provide tools, treatments, and perspectives which enable people to find their own dreams and achieve them.  We deliver these elements through speaking engagements, workshops, publications, multimedia, and the Internet.

  

The similarities between the two statements are remarkable, especially considering that I have written a book combining Eastern and Western thought which seeks a publisher through one or more literary agents.

 

Yet this paper examines how my vision and mission relate to change management and more importantly, Change Leadership.  The question remains, how do I represent change leadership, and how can I grow my skills in this area?

 

Very simply, focusing on the perspective of my key audience and narrowing my focus onto the key stakeholders will better facilitate my goals and mission.  For example, I as a philosopher and dedicated adherent of both the Eastern and Western paths of spirituality, I have a flexible nature.

 

Unfortunately this variability can be a weakness as well as a strength.  As a strength, I can adjust my writing, such as on my daily blog, and my speaking, to reach many audiences.  As a weakness, I end up reaching no one.  Thus, I need to narrow my focus.

 

Part of this involves deep character building.  I have a tendency to seek the approval of too many stakeholders when charting a change.  While consensus-building is important, one cannot please everyone as a change leader.

 

In fact, if you please everyone, you are likely not leading change!

 

So, my current focus in involves building a core of inner strength that allows me to remain centered in my vision and mission.  Because of my sensitivity and empathy I can easily lose focus and become hurt while leading change.  Although as an infrastructure consultant it was easy to push someone else’s vision, as a visionary, it is different when I am nurturing and growing my own child

 

Many people advise not to get too emotionally involved in one’s work.  I see this as vital to all change leadership.  Without having an emotional stake, one can never truly inspire that vision.  What I do need to learn and am trying so hard to, is to separate people’s resistance to ideas of change, from resistance to me.

Follow the Yellow-brick Road

Why Vision?

A vision is what carries you through dark times.  Life is a journey along a Yellow-brick road.  When you begin it, you see the road dip in and out of view into valleys and chasms.  Yet far in the distance you see it emerge from woods and obstacles to reach its destination, the Emerald City.

 

Many times on the journey you find yourself in what appear to be pits.  The walls are sheer and it appears there is no way out of them.  Faith consists of knowing that the road you walked in on, is the road you walk out on.  Vision is what carries your faith.

 

Just as this introduction uses a simple analogy to explain its purpose, vision is best communicated in this fashion, as a clear and concise story which embodies your goals, methods, and character.  My vision for example, is to show people how to feel immortality in every moment.

 

Checklists

The following checklists give examples of how to communicate your vision and minimize resistance to it.

 

Tips to Know

1.         Communicate consistently

2.         Communicate repeatedly

3.         Communicate in many different arenas

4.         Communicate it in your actions

5.         Communicate it to your direct reports above, below, and laterally

 

Pitfalls to Avoid

1.         Beware of hypocrisy

a.         Do not contradict the vision in speech

b.         Do not contradict the vision in action

2.         When you cannot change your actions, explain them in a release or announcement

3.         Get the right people on the bus and the right people off the bus

 

Dealing with Resistance

1.         Convert the resistance

2.         Disarm the resistance

3.         Avoid the resistance

4.         Eliminate the resistance

 

Checklist Summary

Key to vision is communicating clearly, minimizing hypocrisy, and dispersing resistance.  Whenever you act you are either reinforcing or undermining your vision.  The costs of contradicting your vision are horrendous.  You spend weeks, months, and even years formulating something destroyed in one careless word or action.

 

Thus you must align all that you do and train those above, below and lateral to you.  Communicate this vision in thousands of small transactions every day rather than through large big-ticket promotions alone.  The daily grind tempers your mettle.

 

When you encounter resistance, your first step can be to convert it.  Try to persuade and cajole the fearful through small steps.  Sometimes conversion is impossible, avoid the resistance at this point.  When you cannot avoid it, disarm it by rendering its powers against your vision moot.  Do this through transfers, and marginalization if necessary.  Finally, if you must, eliminate the resistance through layoffs or enforced retirement.

 

These simple steps and guidelines can help remind us that vision is everything.  Tell a man he is stacking bricks and they will be crooked and inconsistent, tell him that he is building the tallest building in the world that will stand for a century, and you have perfect rows.

Reference:

 

Collins, Jim (2001). Good to Great. New York: Harper Collins

Kotter, John P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Genes and Reincarnation Part IV: Peace within Becomes Peace Without

On our little journey we have surveyed the lay of the land.  We find ancestral memories in the genetic code, single-generation mutation, inheritance of acquired characteristics, and other things equally discomforting to orthodox science.   

In fact, we actually find that something like “inheritance of applied characteristics” is what actually occurs in humanity.  Our examination also lead to the fact that each of us has a greater role in our own drama they we may have supposed.   

This path envisions that even one person can bring peace to the world through settling his or her own soul.  Isn’t this what the path of the Sage is about?  Is this not what Jesus did?  Is this not what Buddha did?   

Is this not what you do?

Genes and Reincarnation Part III: Genetic Designate

 So here we are, a mishmash of all of the loose ends of our families from time immemorial.  Your uncle’s penchant for fishing, and your aunt’s for fish.  Imagine that here you are trying to settle the problems of humanity in your own personal mortal body.  

For example, you are half Palestinian and half Israeli, if you can settle your own nature, your countries can abide each other.  I am not saying that the calculus is necessarily this easy.  But as far as I am concerned, it is a great place to start.  

Most of us alive today can sense the heat rising, and the hammer coming down.  As I have stated elsewhere, humanity is being forged into a spacefaring species.  When you forge a tool, how does one do it?  

First, you increase the heat, global warming.  Second, you increase density, population growth.  By the collision of forces, the strongest of implements it created.  This is humanity in this age.  We are each of us designates.  

We are the inheritors of our own personal royal lines.  You, either the prince or princess, king or queen, of your own little piece of reality.  This may sound self-aggrandizing or egotistical.  That makes it no less poetic or even true.  

It is your role to forge something beautiful out of the genetic soup that is your soul.